String-opening container and method of fabricating the same



Jam. 21, 1958 v M. 5. GOLD ET AL 2,820,587

STRING-OPENING CONTAINER AND METHOD OF FABRICATING THE SAME Filed Jan.13, 1956 6- f INVENTOR$ 3552 oiik w BY & 2%; yw g fiwaw ATTORNEYS.

United States fatent O STRING-OPENING CONTAINER AND METHOD OFFABRICATING THE SAME Maxwell B. Gold, Englewood, N. L, and Jack D.Roberts, Roslyn, N. Y., assignors to Harcord Manufacturing CompanyIncorporated, Jersey City, N. L, a corporation of New Jersey ApplicationJanuary 13, 1956, Serial No. 558,919

6 Claims. (Cl. 229-51) a wound single or multi-ply container to beeffected quickly, easily and without the need of accessory openingdevices, or the possibility of damaging the container contents, throughthe provision of an opening string or rip-cord which in the case of asingle-ply container is attached to the ply, and in the case of amulti-ply container is disposed between the container plies.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a woundmulti-ply container adapted to be easily separated into sections alongan intended severance line, by means of an inter-ply string or rip-corddisposed along or substantially along the severance line and between theplies, the inner ply or plies of the container being, preferably,weakened along the intended severance line as by cutting, scoring, orperforating so as to enable the sections to be broken apart easily afterthe outer plies have been severed by the rip-cord, and the outer pliesof the container being, preferably, left unweakened along the severanceline so as to preserve the full strength of the outer plies and preventaccidental separation into sections during handling, shipping, etc. ofthe container.

It is another object of this invention to provide a new, useful andimproved string-opening wound container and a method of manufacturingsuch containers.

Other and further objects of this invention will appear from thefollowing description, the accompanying drawing and the appended claims.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing ends and objects and inaccordance with one embodiment of this invention, a string or rip-cordis disposed and arranged on a length of the ply material, either beforeor during the winding and gluing together of the container plies, so asto lie between and be attached to the plies of the container whenformed, along a severance line, dividing the container into sectionswhich are in initially integral but separable relation to each other.construction and arrangement the string or rip-cord, which is of alength preferably coextensive with that of the length of ply material,is adapted to function to sever the container plies successively andcircumferentially of the container and along the severance line, fromthe outside to the inside of the container, as the cord is unwound.

In the fabrication of the container one or more of the plies may bescored suificiently as to be cut through or substantially through alongthe severance line, some of the plies being left uncut however so as topreserve the strength of the container. In such case, the scored ply orplies of the sections at opposite sides of the line will be heldtogether, if at all, by whatever uncut fibres may remain and by whateverglue layer traverses the severance line and joins the plies to eachother. Since the rip- By reason of this "ice cord is disposed betweenthe plies along or substantially along this line in the glue layertherebetween, unwinding of the cord will serve to rupture or sever theglue layer at the same time it severs the plies, and the scored ply orplies will permit the sections to be separated cleanly from each other.Preferably, only the inner ply is scored so as to preserve the strengthof the container.

The inter-ply rip-cord my be applied to either the outer or the innerperimeter of each ply of paper as the canister is wound. In the formercase, a terminal portion of the cord in the finished product isnecessarily exposed over the outer perimeter of the outer ply. Hence, ifa label is applied to the outer perimeter of the canister and over thisexposed terminal portion of the cord, the label can be severed byunwinding the terminal portion of the cord. Once the label has beensevered, continued unwinding of the cord severs the underlying uncutplies successively from outside to inside of the canister so that whenthe scoring is reached the container sections may be easily broken apartalong the severance line.

In the case where the rip-cord is continuous with and applied to theinner perimeter of each ply of the canister from the inside to theoutside, it will be apparent that the terminal portion of the cord, thatis, the final outer turn, is not circumferentially exposed and a label,if applied over the canister perimeter, will be severed simultaneouslywith the severing of the outer ply of the canister, as the cord isunwound. Score cutting of the inner ply is not required in such case butis preferred to ensure clean separation of the sections at the innerply.

In either of the above cases the rip-cord may be stitched to the plymaterial before winding, the line of stitching coinciding with thedesired severance line of the canister. Thus, by taking hold of theouter end of the stitch cord and pulling out the line of stitchingaround the perimeter of the canister, the ply material will be rippedapart along the severance line so as to sever the plies successivelyfrom the outside to the inside and separate the sections from eachother. Preferably, the stitching is of the lock-stitch type so that asthe stitches are successively pulled out they will also rip the plymaterial apart progressively along the severance line. It will beapparent moreover that the glue layer by which the plies are bonded toeach other will also serve to fasten the individual stitches to the plymaterial so as to facilitate the ripping of the ply material as thestitches are successively pulled out. In the case of a single plycontainer, that is, a container having a single turn of ply material,such a stitching enables the single ply to be cut throughcircumferentially in a simple and expeditious fashion as the stitchingis pulled out around the container.

The overlying label, it used, is preferably die-cut to provide a cut-outsection spotting and providing access to the outer end of the cord, andexposing the chipboard and/or the ply scoring, if any. Furthermore, inorder to present a better appearance and better to spot, for theconsumer, the place on the canister where the latter is to be opened,the chipboard exposed. by the cut-out section may be colored.

In the accompanying drawings which form part ofthe instant specificationand are to be read in conjunction therewith and in which like numbersrefer to like parts throughout the several views:

Fig. l is a view in elevation of a multi-ply container in accordancewith a preferred embodiment of this invention in which the inter-plyrip-cord is applied to the outer perimeter of the plies;

Fig. is. airagmentary-"enlarged view of a multi-ply container inaccordance-with a--modifiedembodiment of this invention in which therip-cord is applied to the inner perimeter of the plies;

Fig. 4 is a schematic showing-inelevationef one form of apparatusf'orcarrying-out t-heeme-t-hodf-of this invention; I

Fig. 5 is a fragmentaryand -sornewhatenlargedview of a detail ofthepl-yscor'ing device of the apparatnsasystem of -Fig. 4, taken aIOng-tlrelineS -S of Fi-gzA-t" Fig. 6 is a fragmentary andsomewhat enlarged viewof the cord-applyingadevice of T the apparatus of Fig. .4 taken alongtheline 6'6 of- Fig; 4;

Fig. 7'is a fragmentary view in-planof the system of Fig: -4 taken atthe container-formingend'of the system, the viewshowing thedisposition;of the'rip-cord' on the outer perimeter of the container;and

Fig; "8" is a fragmentary view of a section of: pre-stitchedcontainerply in accordance'withthis invention;

Referring now more particularly to the accompanying drawing, andespecially to Figs. 1' and Zithereo'f, a length of thin sheet material,snch as chipobard, is convolutely wound into a multi-ply open-endedcontainer body 1 which isd'epicted as sealed ateacl1 end by suitablemetal closures 2. p

The body 1 as shown 1 is cylindrical in contour but :may beot'rec'tangular or other suitable contour as desired, It may comprise asmany individual plies'3 as necessary: for the strength' required inthetype of service to which the container is to be put. Asaherepreferablyembodied it comprisesfour plies each bonded to'theneXtby -acontinuouslayer 4 of adhesive into a single unit. The-outer surface of this'unitas 'shownis'coveredbya suitable label 5 bonded to' the outer ply by theouter layer 4iof adhesive. It will be understood thatthe label5'may=be:omit.-

ted if desired.

A string or 'rip-cord'7 is located between' eachpair of the plies3 andbetween the outermost'ply and thelabel 5; The-rip-cord consists of asingle length vofrelatively small diameter'cordmaterial and lies between.ithewplies along a continuous severance line 8 marking and dividing thecontainer into sections 9 and 10' in' initially integral but separablerelation to each-other,

The innermost ply is preferably: completelyascorez cut as at 8' in Fig.2 to' provide opposing cutedges'of the sections '9 and 10-which areunited; if at all, only-by adhesive which" 'hasflowed from betweentheeplies :into :the scoring-and-set aroundthecordT. Therremaining-plies are preferably not :scoredr =atzsall along'the"severance line so that th'e sections' 9 andtlfl; as respects theouterpliesg are integral'with each .othertalong the severan'ce' line sso astoapreserve the desired strength of: the containers Moreover the -score-85 al'ong1the-inner P y" provides: a trough. forthe rip-cord 7' 'in% thefabrication- 0f thercontain'er; andf a;-continuous pocketifor theadhesive by: which the 'plies are united. Scoring of the labeli5 is not:necessary since the label materialIis-reasily severed by thewipecord.

The cord? is:preferablyscoextensive in lengthawith the length: otrplymaterial which forms: theseveral plies and 't'erminates in'endportion'fl" by which the cord'may be pull'ed'iand unwound so-as tosever the label and 'thecon- :tainer. plies: successively :andzcircumferentially :of the container along the severance line 8 fromthe-outside to the inside of. the container.

overlying. label 5 depictedin Figs; 1 and'2 is preferably. die-'cutrtoprovide a .cut+out section 5. spotting and providing access to theterminal end '7' of'th'e cord and exposing a portion 11 of; theimmediately: underlying ply 3: .Freferably, 'the=exposed' portion 11 isof a-color-'dif- 'ferent from-that of -the imme'diately surrounding areaof the. label so as to present a hetter'appearance and better'tospotgfor the consumemtheplace on-thecontainer'where the-latteris'toheopened: 'In' -order "to open "thecontainer of F1"gs; l and 2 the 4:;terminal end 7 of the cord 7 is grasped manually and the, cordunwound.The unwindingof the firstturnsevers the convolutely Wound label 5. Thesecond turn severs the first ply along the severance line 8, and so on,working from outside to inside until the last ply is reached. Aspreviously noted, theallastply in the embodiment of Fig. 2, is, cutthrough along the severance line 8 so that when the-last=-ply isreached, the container sections may be easily broken apart along theseverance line to provide-access to the container interior and itscontents; By reason of. the uncut outer pliesrthe container retains ahigh. degree of-strengthuntil the cord isunwound,- thus ensuring that itwill not be broken easily into sections as Wouldbe thecasewere theouter. pliesalsocutand the rip-cord not adhesively bonded to the pliesalong the severance line.

In the container embodiment shown in Fig. 3, the rip cord-:7-is locatedalongthe severanceline 8-on theainner perimeterv of the container plies.3 beginning with the innermost ply, theplies and coveringlabel shownbeing adhesively united each to the next by the layers 4 of ad'- hesive.as above mentioned; The cord 7 is coextensive in length with the lengthof ply material forming the several plies. -3 and extends from theinside to the outsideaof the container. along the continuousv severance.line, 8, which marks theproposed line of separationbetween the con-.tainer sections 9.and 10. The inner turn of the cord is .adhesivelyattached to the. ply material. The same. con,- di-tionobtains withrespect to the outer. turnsof the cord.

The cord 7 terminates attheexterior of the container with its cut end.7flushor substantially flushwiththe end-of the outer ply of thecontainer.

.ter off'the plies. i exposed over the outer ply except as covered bythe label 5, the final turn of the cord .7 in the container of Fig. 3liesbetween the outer ply and,the next inner,- ply and not between thelabel 5 and the outer ply. Hence, in unwinding the cord, the first turnserves to sever the label and the first ply simultaneously; It will beunderstood that the label may be provided with acut-out portion (notshown) corresponding to that of the container. of Fig. 2, for markingthe end 7 of the cord and spotting it for the consumer. Asthe cord isunwound' it successively severs the, plies from. the outside to theinside of the container.

Instead of the rip-cord being located in and heldby the adhesive, alongor substantially along thev severance line 8; it may he stitched to, thelength of ply material.

along the proposed severancefline, before the .ply material is woundinto' container form. Such a construction is depicted in Fig. 8 whereinthe rip-cord 16 is. stitchedto the ply material 17 along the intendedline .of severance. Such a mode. of; attaching the cordis, particularlyadvantageous in connection with aso-calledlsingle-ply container, thatis, a container having a single turn of ply material. Thestitching,circumferentiallyv or the, container along the desiredseverance line. serves to sever the container sections from each otheras the, stitching is pulled out fi'o'mend to end; Alock stitch ensuresthat the ply material will be separated along the, severance line butthis may be enhanced by the application 'of a coating ofadhesive alongthe stitch line serving ,to lock the stitchingandply material together.

Referring now more particularly to Figs; 4 to 7, in: elusive, there isdepicted schematically one form of apparatns suitable for carryingoutthemethod of this invention as applied particularly to the fabrication ofthe container of'Fi'g. 2.. In accordance'with this invention, chipboardor other suitable ply material incontinuous strip form is drawn from arollh2.0.',.the strip 20. being conducted via a tensioning roller system21 .ontoaand along awork table22. The leadingedge of thestripsisattached. toa suitable winding ,mandrel 23.,uponand by which the stripis convolutely wound into container'iorm.

'Ihe-tensioning roller system serves injknown manner to Unlike the con--tainer. of Fig. 2 wherein the cord 7 on the outer perime' permitacceleration and deceleration of the strip between the roll 20 and themandrel 23 without affecting the feed of material from the roll 20'which latter rotates at a suitable speed. A cylindrical mandrel isdepicted in Fig. 4 but it will be understood that the mandrel may be ofa contour to form a rectangular container or container of any othersuitable contour.

The strip 20 in'advancing along the table 22 passes through an adhesiveapplying zone wherein a layer 24 of adhesive is applied to the uppersurface of the strip as by means of an adhesive applicator 25. Theadhesively coated strip in advancing passes under a scoring wheel 26which, preferably, is disposed to cut through the strip, as indicated inFig. from its leading edge over a length corresponding to the length ofthe first turn on the mandrel 23. The scoring wheel may be verticallyadjustably mounted on carriage 27 which in turn is supported forvertical movement by means of a springpressed push-rod 28 adapted to bedownwardly actuated by a cam 29 through a rocker 30. Rotation of the camby suitable means, not shown, serves to move the carriage and hence thescoring wheel, downwardly to whatever elevation is required for eithercutting or merely scoring the moving strip. The cam contour and angularmotion are preferably suitably correlated to the angular motion of themandrel 23 to achieve a complete cutting of the strip along the desiredseverance line for and only for a distance corresponding to theperimeter of the first or inner ply formed on the mandrel 23. This maybe extended to effect the partial scoring of additional ply lengths, ifdesired. By raising the wheel 26 under the control of the cam 29, thematerial which is to form subsequent plies may be scored to whateverdepth is required, in a manner which will be obvious to those skilled inthe art.

The coated and scored strip advances from the scoring stations to andthrough a cord applying station wherein a cord applying head 32 operatesto lay a length of string or rip-cord 7 along the desired severance line8. To this end, the head 32 is recessed in its undersurface to provide agroove 35 (Fig. 6) in which the cord lies and is guided by the head ontothe severance line 8. The head 32 is pivotally supported from a bracket36 by arms 37 for movement in a vertical plane, the bracket 36 beingadjustable transversely of the strip for laying the cord along thedesired severance line. A spring 38 adjustable as to tension connectsthe arm 37 to the bracket 36 and serves to maintain the head 32 insuitable sliding contact with the moving strip of ply material. The cord7 passes through a guide channel 39 in the bracket 36 to a cord supplycone 40. It will be understood that by reason of the layer 24 ofadhesive material, the cord at the head 32 is caused to adhere to thestrip and be drawn from the head 32 as the strip advances.

Suitable knife means 31 are disposed adjacent the mandrel 23 forsevering the strip and its applied cord after the requisite length ofply material has passed by. It will be understood that suitable feedingmeans (not shown) are provided for advancing each strip length insuitably timed relation to operation and cycling of the mandrel 23, andaffixing the leading edge of each strip to the mandrel for the windingof the container thereon. As will be seen from Fig. 7, the stripmaterial and the applied cord 7 are simultaneously convolutely wound onthe mandrel 23, the cord being on the outer perimeter of each ply asformed. If a label 5 is to be applied to the container, wrapping of thelabel 5 (Fig. 2) on the formed container over the outer ply and exposedcord may be accomplished by suitable label wrapping devices well knownin the art, care being taken however that in applying and winding thelabel, the cut out section of the label is disposed to expose theterminal (or free) end of the cord as shown in Fig. 2.

Instead of applying the cord by means of the applying ,head 32, thecord' may be stitched beforehand to the ply material. To this'end, asindicated in Fig. 4, a sewing machine 40 is disposed in suitablerelation to the roll 20 of strip material to operate on the moving stripand stitch the cord 41 thereto along the proposed line of severancelongitudinally of the strip after the manner of the stitched stripdepicted in Fig. 8. The subsequent coating of the strip with the gluewill serve to bind the stitching securely to the ply material so that inunwinding the line of stitching to open the container, the stitching andglue adhesively bonding the stitching to the ply material will togetherfunction to sever the ply material along the established severance line.If desired the stitching may be applied in spaced apart parallel rowsdefining a narrow strip therebetween which will be stripped out of theply material as the stitch rows are unwound together. It will beunderstood that in either of such cases the head 32 may be dispensedwith although the scoring wheel 26 may continue to function as before.In order to maintain a steady movement of the strip material under thesewing machine 40 two tensioning take up systems such as are indicatedat 21 may be employed between the mandrel 23 and roll 20, one inconnection with the stitching machine and one in connection with thecoating and scoring heads of the machine.

Thus it will be seen that the objects of this invention have beenaccomplished. The container with its interply rip-cord may be neatly andsimply severed into sections lying at either side of the establishedseverance line merely by unwinding the rip-cord. By reason of theinnermost ply being scored so as to be cut through or substantiallythrough beforehand the last ply will break apart easily after the outerplies have been severed by the interply rip-cord, and the sectionscleanly and easily separated. Where the plies have merely been scored tovarying degrees and not completely score cut or are entirely uncut orunscored, the cord will serve to sever the plies successively as it isunwound along the severance line. A multiply container in accordancewith this invention is characterized particularly by the fact that itpossesses substantially all of its potential strength by reason of thefact that, contrary to the construction of conventional or score-cutcontainers, the outer plies are uncut and are in initially integral andseverable relation and are severable along a determined severance lineby means of an inter-ply rip-cord.

The invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specificsteps, combinations and improvements described but departures may bemade therefrom within the scope of the accompanying claims withoutdeparting from the principles of the invention and without sacrificingits chief advantages.

What is claimed is:

l. A container comprising a multi-ply wound container body having aseverance line extending circumferentially thereof and dividing saidbody into sections in initially integral and separable relation alongsaid line, the inner ply of said body being weakened along saidseverance line; a label covering the outer ply of said body along saidline; and, a rip-cord running along said line between said label and theouter ply and between the remaining plies from the outside to the insideof said body, for severing said label and plies so as to separate saidsections along said line, said rip-cord being secured to said plies.

2. A container comprising a multi-ply wound container body having aseverance line extending circumferentially thereof and dividing saidbody into sections in initially integral and separable relation alongsaid line, the inner ply of said body being weakened along saidseverance line; a label overlying the outer ply of said body along saidline, said label having an opening exposing a portion of said outer plyalong said line; and, a rip-cord located in part between said label andsaid outer ply and in part between said plies, said rip-cord runningalong said severance line from the outside to the inside of said bodyfor games? severing saidilabelandplisso asitoseparate saicLsee:

tionsnlongsaid. line; ,saidstand-.lheing v secured nto. saidgplies and.haying itspouter. .endf locatedlin the .ogening' in; said labe1..'

3.. A container. comprising a. mnlti-ply woundcontainer body having aseverance .line extending circumferentially thereof vandwdividi-ngsaidvbody into ,setctionsin initially integral and separablerelationwalongsaid line, the inner ply of. said body being weakenedalong. said severance line; and, a rip-,cordlbeated betweensaid plies;andvrunningv along said severance linen-from the outside to theinsidetof said body, for seven'ng said pliesso as to, sepavratehsaid,sections along saidllline, said rip-cord being secured .to saidplies.

4;.A- container in, accordance with, claim 3 wherein said containerbodyis convolutely wound.

5- A; pnt inerr n. csor n ew h laim 3 where n sfiidrifiwnrdiiloeatedionh r nne tpe ime er o the SPfiQfiYepli'es ineliidinggthe inner perimete'ofth e inner Pl 6'. A container inaceordancewith. claim 3'. whereinsaid fip-cordis located on the outer perimeter oftlie respect'ive plies.

References 'Cited' in the -file*of patent STATES PATENTS l;24 3 ,699-Brown; Oct; 23,1917 1,265,507: Berraulti Mayi7; 1918 1922,565 Adair! VAug. 15;:1933 2323377 93 Kennedy Julyi'46;:1943 2,433,683 Cbyle Dec. 30;1947

